Railroad-crossing alarm



(No Model.)

s. H. TI N SMAN & 0. eo oLn. RAILROAD CROSSING ALARM.

No. 498,587. Patented May 30, 1893.

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UNrTE TATES ATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL H. TINSMAN AND CASSIUS M. GOOLD, OF MORRIS, ILLINOIS.

RAILROAD-CROSSING ALARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,587, dated May 30, 1893. Application filed February 9, 1893. Serial No- 461,681- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, SAMUEL H. TINSMAN and OAssIUs M. GOOLD, citizens of the United States of America, residing at Morris, in the county of Grundy and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Crossing Alarms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference thereon, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure l is a perspective view of a section of a rail road rail as viewed from its outer side, showing a pair of toggle bars attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of'a gong post, having an ordinary gong attached thereto, and showing the chain or cord for connecting the gong with the wire or cable connected with the toggle bars. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a section of a rail road track, showing the signal mechanism applied thereto. 7' Fig. 4 is a detail plan showing the manner of j ointing the ends of the toggle bars together.

. This invention relates to certain improve ments in rail road signals of the class where in the wheels of a passing train passing over toggle bars pivotally attached to the outer side of one of the rails, will cause a distant gong to be sounded, by means of its being connected with the toggle bar mechanism by means of a wire or cable.

Referring to the drawings R represents an ordinary rail road rail.

a, a, and O are blocks for filling the hollow in the outer side of the rail.

A, A, are a pair of long toggle bars, each having its outer end pivotally connected to a block a by means of bolts passing through said arm, block, and rail to secure them all together. The toggle bars A, A, are pivotally connected together at their inner ends as shown in Fig. 4, by means of a bolt 0 passing through them. 7

B is a bell crank pivotally connected to the block 0 at the outer side of the rail, and is connected by means of a link L to the toggle bars A, A, at their joint through the medium of the bolt 0.

P is a gong post intended to be located at a distance from the toggle bars, and has secured to it near its upper end an ordinary gong G which is connected with the lower end of the bellcrank B by means of the cord or chain F, and the wire or cable F, and the tension spring J interposed between said cord or chain F and said gong, said spring preventing injury to said gong, and giving proper tension to said cord or chain F. Said wire or cable F is shown as extending along by the side of the rail from where it attaches to said bell crank toward the gong post around a pulley z to where it attaches to said cord or chain F, which cord or chain being more flexible passes around pulley c and up to coil spring J which connects with the gong G. This wire or cable F may be elevated to rest on a series of pulleys on posts, and may becovered if desired to protect it from the elements. A toggle may be located in either direction from the gong post, and a wire or cable may extend in either direction from said post to connect the gong with a toggle, so the gong may be sounded by a train from either direction.

D is a plate secured to the under side of the rail, or to the ties if desired, and is provided with a slot for the bell crank B to pass through for the purpose of holding the bell crank in proper position.

The toggle bars arelong, and arranged so that their connected ends will be held by means of the wire or cable F a little above the top of the rail so they will be engaged by the wheels of a passing train and be depressed thereby successively as the train passes along. Being located on the outer side of the rail, they are engaged only by the outer part of the wheel tread, and do not interfere in the least with a passing train. It is intended that the tension on the wire or cable F will about balance the coil springs J and K so as to cause the toggle bars to operate very easily. The coil spring K is sleeved on over the cord or chain F, and is secured at its lower end to said cord or chain, and at its upper end to a stud N on the side of post P. This spring is for the purpose of maintaining proper tension on the wire or cable F, and to return it after being operated.

In operation the toggles are long enough so that the two or more wheels that are at the ends of a car will all rest on the toggle at the same time, and hold it depressed, until released by the greater space between the front and rear wheels of the car and permit the tension of the wire or cable to return them to their place above the rail to be engaged by the next succeding Wheels of the car, so that the gong is sounded only once by the Wheels of a single truck of the car.

Any length of wire or cable Within certain limits may be used and toggles may be placed onseveral trucks and be all connected with the same gong if desired.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows, to wit:

In a rail road signal the combination of the rail road rail, a pair of toggle bars pivotally connected at their outer ends to the outer side of the rail road rail, and pivotally connected with each other at their inner ends and havin g their connected ends project above the top of the rail road rail, a bell crank pivotally connected to the side of the rail below the connected ends of the toggle bars, a link for connecting said bell crank and toggle bars, the slotted plate D for receiving in its slot one arm of the bell crank, a gong located ata distance from said toggle bars near said rail, the

Witnesses:

THOS. I-I. HUTCHINS, RAY HUTOHINS. 

